Braking structure of ratchet wrench

ABSTRACT

A braking structure of a ratchet wrench comprises: a wrench head, having an operating portion, a rear end thereof being a head pivoting portion, a peripheral of the head pivoting portion having plural urging grooves; a wrench handle, a front end thereof having a handle pivoting portion pivotally connected with the head pivoting portion, the handle pivoting portion having a pivoting room, an acting through hole at a rear end of the pivoting room and extending toward the wrench handle, a positioning device being neighbor to a rear end of the handle pivoting portion and having a slim acting slot, a hole being in the acting slot and being perpendicular to an extension direction of the wrench handle; an urging device, having an urging rod; an operation device, having a pushing member that has an inserting rod, the inserting rod having a positioning through hole vertical to the inserting rod.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to a wrench structure, moreparticularly to a braking structure of a ratchet wrench that facilitatesassembly, operation and may not easily malfunction.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Wrenches are commonly used for operation in order to facilitate tighten,loosen a screw or nut and other kinds of positioning workpiece, andincludes many different types, such as open-end wrench, combinationwrench, box wrench, adjustable wrench, socket wrench, and so on. Ageneral structure of a wrench normally comprises a head and a handle.The head has an accommodation room to accommodate screws or nuts. Viathe accommodation room fitting with screws/nuts, the handle appliesrotational forces to tight and loosen screws/nuts. According topositions and angles of workpieces and other operation environments,several sorts of ratchet wrenches with adjusting the angles of liftingand bending head thereof are developed to facilitate operations. Apatent, No. M265163 of Republic of China, is related to ratchet wrench.It provides a hand tool with a joint locking mechanism and has a head20, a handle 30, a joint locking mechanism 40, and a pull knob device45. The head 20 has a rear end. The handle 30 has a front end connectedwith the rear end of the head 20. The joint locking mechanism 40 isdisposed between the front end of the handle 30 and the rear end of thehead 20. The front end of the handle 30 has a first hole 33approximately elongating along the length direction of the handle 30 anda second hole 34 perpendicularly connected with the first hole 33. Thejoint locking mechanism 40 has a plurality of grooves 23 at the rear endof the head 20, a lockpin 42 and a first spring 41, wherein the lockpin42 and the first spring 41 are disposed in the first hole 33 of thefront end of the handle 30. The pull knob device 45 has a pull knobportion 451 and a latch hook 452 beneath the pull knob portion 451,wherein the latch hook 452 elongates from the second hole 34 and hooks alatch slot 44 of the lockpin 42. So that the pull knob device 45 drivesthe lockpin 42 to move in the first hole 33, and the first spring 41provides elastic forces to drive the lockpin 42 going through a secondspring 52 and a positioning board 51 for urging one of the grooves 23.

As aforesaid, a bending angle of the head 20 is adjustable by way ofmoving the pull knob portion 451, but there are still shortcomingsexisted. For example, the pull knob device 45 latches the latch slot 44of the lockpin 42 by means of the latch hook 452 so as to move thelockpin 42. Basically, it makes that the structures of the pull knobdevice 45 and the lockpin 42 are complicate, and therefore it is notconvenient for manufacturing and assembly. Further, the latch hook 452may be easier to be damaged with time goes by, and it causesmalfunctions to the lockpin 42. More, the latch hook 452 latches thelatch slot 44 of the lockpin 42, and the latch hook 452 will be worn tohappen conditions of loosen, shaking, etc. of the latch hook 452 linkingup with the lockpin 42. Hence, how to solve the shortcomings from priorarts becomes an important issue to the people skilled in the art.

Accordingly, the inventor has studied an issue in order to develop abraking structure of a ratchet wrench that facilitates assembly,operation and may not easily malfunction for serving people andadvancing life quality.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The main objective of the present invention is to provide a brakingstructure of a ratchet wrench, it is composed of an easy linkingmechanism in order to convenient for manufacturing and assembly, and itis worth for considering economic benefits.

The second objective of the present invention is to provide a brakingstructure of a ratchet wrench, and it prevents loosen parts, shaking andeven rupture while in operation, and increases stability and operationcertainty for enhancing life and operation quality.

To approach above objective, the present invention comprises: a wrenchhead, having an operating portion, a rear end of the wrench head being ahead pivoting portion, a peripheral of the head pivoting portion havinga plurality of urging grooves; a wrench handle, a front end of thewrench handle having a handle pivoting portion that is pivotallyconnected with the head pivoting portion, the handle pivoting portionhaving a pivoting room, an acting through hole being at a rear end ofthe pivoting room and extending toward the wrench handle, a positioningdevice being neighbor to a rear end of the handle pivoting portion andhaving an acting slot with a slim shape, a hole being in the acting slotand being perpendicular to an extension direction of the wrench handle,wherein the hole is a long hole and is perpendicular to and connectedwith the acting through hole; an urging device, having an urging rod; anoperation device, having a pushing member that has an inserting rod, theinserting rod having a positioning through hole that is vertical to theinserting rod, wherein the diameter of the inserting rod is less thanthe length of the hole and the positioning through hole corresponds tothe acting through hole; wherein the pushing member is disposed in theacting slot, the inserting rod is inserted into the hole, and the urgingrod is through the acting through hole, continuously the urging rod isinserted into the positioning through hole for tight connection, and theurging rod is against to one of the urging grooves.

Accordingly, an urging hole is in front of the hole, a spring is in theurging hole, an urging ball is on a top of the spring, a front end ofthe pushing member has a first urging slot and a second urging slotafter the first urging slot.

Accordingly, the diameter of the urging rod is less than the diameter ofthe acting through hole, a front end of the urging rod is an urging headthat has a rotating slot.

Accordingly, a rear end of the urging rod is an urging ladder, thepositioning through hole is stuck by the urging ladder.

Accordingly, the urging ladder is a thread.

Accordingly, a top cover is on a top end of the pushing member, and thelength of the top cover is longer than the length of the pushing member.

Accordingly, a front edge of the thread is formed as the urging ladderfor urging and positioning.

Accordingly, the urging rod is connected with the positioning throughhole.

Accordingly, the positioning device has a spring slot at a rear end ofthe hole, the spring slot is through to the hole and corresponds to thepositioning through hole, a flexible member is disposed in the springslot and urges to a rear end of the urging rod.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The objects, spirits, and advantages of the preferred embodiments of thepresent invention will be readily understood by the accompanyingdrawings and detailed descriptions, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic perspective view of a first preferredembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic exploded view of the first preferredembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic sectional view of the first preferredembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic sectional view of adjusting angle of thefirst preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates a schematic sectional view of a variety of the firstpreferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates a schematic exploded view of a second preferredembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 illustrates a schematic sectional view of the second preferredembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 illustrates a schematic sectional view of operation of the secondpreferred embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 9 illustrates a schematic sectional view of a variety of the secondpreferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Following preferred embodiments and figures will be described in detailso as to achieve aforesaid objects.

Please refer to FIG. 1, FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, which illustrate a schematicview of a first preferred embodiment of the braking structure of theratchet wrench of the present invention. As shown in figure, a ratchetwrench 1 includes: a wrench head 10, a wrench handle 20, an urgingdevice 30, and an operation device 40. The wrench head 10 has anoperation portion 11, and the operation portion 11 is only anapplication mode or an accommodation room for female-connecting aworking member (not shown in figure), and it is not limited thereto.Hence, the ratchet wrench 1 can be a socket wrench, an open end wrench,a combination wrench, a spanner wrench, an active wrench, etc. Accordingto the direction of the figures, the rear end of the wrench head 10 isan arc head pivoting portion 12 that has a pivoting hole 121, theperipheral of the head pivoting portion 12 has a plurality of urginggrooves 122, and the urging grooves 122 is consisted of plural toothrings.

The front end of the wrench handle 20 has a handle pivoting portion 21,and a positioning device 22 is neighbor to the rear end of the handlepivoting portion 21. The handle pivoting portion 21 has a pair ofconnecting handles 211 that are separated by a pivoting room 210. Thepivoting room 210 is to accommodate the head pivoting portion 12. Anacting through hole 23 is at the rear end of the pivoting room 210 andextends toward the wrench handle 20. The connecting handles 211 have apenetrating pivoting hole 212, and the pivoting hole 212 of one of theconnecting handles 211 is disposed a ring-enlarged slot 213 wherecorresponds to the pivoting room 210. The diameter of the ring-enlargedslot 213 is greater than the diameter of the pivoting hole 212. Thepositioning device 22 has an acting slot 221 with a slim shape. A hole222 is in the acting slot 221 and is perpendicular to an extensiondirection of the wrench handle 20, wherein the hole 222 is a long holeand is perpendicular to and connected with the acting through hole 23,or the hole 222 and the acting through hole 23 are perpendicularlyconnected with each other, wherein an urging hole 223 is in front of thehole 222. For assembly, the head pivoting portion 12 of the wrench head10 is inserted into the pivoting room 210 of the wrench handle 20. Anenforcing ring 213 is thus disposed in the ring-enlarged slot 213. Alockpin 214 goes through the pivoting hole 212 of the handle pivotingportion 21, the pivoting hole 121 of the head pivoting portion 12, andthe ring-enlarged slot 213, so as to pivotally connect the wrench head10 (the head pivoting portion 120) and the wrench handle 20 (handlepivoting portion 21). In the meantime, the urging grooves 122 are in therear of the pivoting room 210, especially in the pivoting room 210.

The urging device 30 has an urging rod 31. The diameter of the urgingrod 31 is less than the diameter of the acting through hole 23. A frontend of the urging rod 31 is an urging head 310 that has a rotating slot311. For the embodiment, the rotating slot 311 is a slot with a specialfigure as a word figure, for example a straight slot for a straightscrewdriver, in order to be driven, and it is not limited thereto. Athreaded section 312 is distributed at the rear end of the urging rod31.

The operation device 40 has a pushing member 41, and a top cover 411 ison the top end of the pushing member 41, and the length of the top cover411 is longer than the length of the pushing member 41, that is, the topcover 411 elongates itself out of the pushing member 41. The pushingmember 41 has an inserting rod 42 underneath, and the diameter of theinserting rod 42 is less than the length of the hole 222, so that theinserting rod 42 can move back and forth in the hole 222. The insertingrod 42 has a positioning through hole 421 that is vertical to theinserting rod 42, and the positioning through hole 421 corresponds tothe acting through hole 23, wherein the positioning through hole 421 isa threaded hole. The pushing member 41 has a first urging slot 412 and asecond urging slot 413 after the first urging slot 412 beneath. Theurging hole 223 has a spring 43 and an urging ball 44, wherein theurging ball 44 is raised or lowered down by the spring 43. The pushingmember 41 is disposed in the acting slot 221, and the inserting rod 42is plugged into the hole 222, and the urging rod 31 is through theacting through hole 23, continuously the threaded section 312 of theurging rod 31 is fixed in the positioning through hole 421 (threadedhole) for tight connection of the urging rod 31 and the positioningthrough hole 421 and continuous serious operations. According to FIG. 3,to assembly the ratchet wrench 1 is completed.

As shown in FIG. 3, when the pushing member 41 is located ahead, thatis, the top cover 411 is pushed forwardly to touch onto the front end ofthe acting slot 221, or the inserting rod 42 is against to the hole 222,therefore the front end (the urging head 310) of the urging rod 31protrudes out of the acting through hole 23 in order to urge the urginggrooves 122. So that the wrench head 10 is positioned so as to proceedrotation operations by means of fitting pieces (not shown in figure) ofthe operation portion 11. In the meantime, the urging ball 44 is againstto the second urging slot 413 by means of the elastic forces from thespring 43 in order to stop and position the pushing member 41. As shownin FIG. 4, when the wrench head 10 is going to lift and bend, the topcover 411 (the pushing member 41) is moved backward so as to move theinserting rod 42 and the urging rod 31. Hence, the urging rod 31 (theurging head 310 takes off from one of the urging grooves 122, and theurging ball 44 is against to the first urging slot 412 for stopping andpositioning the pushing member 41. So that the angle of lifting andbending the wrench head 10 is controlled. On the contrary, the top cover411 (the pushing member 41) is pushed forwardly to let the urging rod 31(the urging head 310) be against to one of the urging grooves 122 forcompletion.

It is to be noted that the combination of the urging rod 31 and theinserting rod 42 is an easy structure and practical, and it is not onlythat benefit to manufacturing, but also hardly happen disorder, so as toincrease life.

Please refer to FIG. 5, which illustrates a schematic view of a variableembodiment from the first preferred embodiment of the braking structureof the ratchet wrench of the present invention. The embodiment isanother design to the combination of the urging rod 31 and the insertingrod 42, wherein the urging rod 31 is that the rear end thereof is notwith the threaded section 312 as the first preferred embodiment, and apositioning through hole 421 a of the inserting rod 42 is comparativelynot with threads. As a conclusion, by way of tight fitting of the urgingrod 31 and the positioning through hole 421 a, the tight connection andfollowing stable continuous operations can be done.

Please refer to FIG. 6, FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, which illustrate a schematicview of a second preferred embodiment of the braking structure of theratchet wrench of the present invention. The second preferred embodimentis another variable embodiment from the first preferred embodiment, andthe differences are described as below. The connection location of theurging rod 31 and the threaded section 312 is disposed an urging ladder313. The way to form the urging ladder 313 is to make the diameter ofthe urging rod 31 be greater than the diameter of the threaded section312. The positioning through hole 421 is a penetrating threaded hole.The positioning device 22 further has a spring slot 224 located at therear part of the hole 222, and the spring slot 224 is connected with thehole 222 and corresponds the positioning through hole 421, wherein thespring slot 224 has a flexible member 24 inside (ex. spring). Except theinserting rod 42 under the pushing member 41, the present embodiment isnot with the first urging slot 412 and the second urging slot 413 as thefirst preferred embodiment; comparatively, the positioning device 22 maynot equipped with the spring 43 and the urging ball 44 for the presentembodiment.

The urging rod 31 goes through the acting through hole 23 so as to letthe threaded section 312 be screwed with the positioning through hole421 (threaded hole), further that the urging ladder 313 is the role tostop the threaded section 312. The flexible member 24 urges the rear endof the urging rod 31 in order to move the urging rod 31, the insertingrod 42 and the pushing member 41 forwardly. The front end (the urginghead 310) of the urging rod 31 protrudes out of the acting through hole23 to urge one of the urging grooves 122. So that the wrench head 10 ispositioned for rotating operations of fitting pieces of the operationportion 11. When the wrench head 10 is going to lift and bend, the topcover 411 (the pushing member 41) is moved backward and fixed bypressing so as to move the inserting rod 42 and the urging rod 31.Hence, the urging rod 31 (the urging head 310 takes off from one of theurging grooves 122. So that the angle of lifting and bending the wrenchhead 10 is controlled. On the contrary, the top cover 411 (the pushingmember 41) is released from pressing, and the flexible member 24 urgesthe urging rod 31, the inserting rod 31, the inserting rod 42 and thepushing member 41, in order to let the urging rod 31 (the urging head310) be against to one of the urging grooves 122 for completing the liftand bend of the wrench head 10.

Please refer to FIG. 9, which illustrates a schematic view of a variableembodiment from the second preferred embodiment of the braking structureof the ratchet wrench of the present invention. The embodiment isanother design to the combination of the urging rod 31 and the insertingrod 42, wherein the urging rod 31 is that the rear end thereof is notwith the threaded section 312 as the first preferred embodiment, and apositioning through hole 421 b of the inserting rod 42 is comparativelynot with threads and penetrates through the inserting rod 42. As aconclusion, by way of tight fitting of the urging rod 31 and thepositioning through hole 421 a, the tight connection and followingstable continuous operations can be done.

The braking structure of the ratchet wrench of the present invention iscomposed of an easy linking mechanism in order to convenient formanufacturing and assembly, and it is worth for considering economicbenefits. On other hand, the present invention prevents loosen parts,shaking and even rupture while in operation, and increases stability andoperation certainty for enhancing life and operation quality.

Although the invention has been disclosed and illustrated with referenceto particular embodiments, the principles involved are susceptible foruse in numerous other embodiments that will be apparent to personsskilled in the art. This invention is, therefore, to be limited only asindicated by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A braking structure of a ratchet wrenchcomprising: a wrench head, having an operating portion, a rear end ofthe wrench head being a head pivoting portion, a peripheral of the headpivoting portion having a plurality of urging grooves; a wrench handle,a front end of the wrench handle having a handle pivoting portion thatis pivotally connected with the head pivoting portion, the handlepivoting portion having a pivoting room, an acting through hole being ata rear end of the pivoting room and extending toward the wrench handle,a positioning device adjacent to a rear end of the handle pivotingportion and having an acting slot extending along an axial direction ofthe wrench handle and having no connection with the rear end of thepivoting room, an accommodating hole being in the acting slot and beingperpendicular to an extension direction of the wrench handle, an urginghole being in the acting slot and located between the rear end of thepivoting room and the accommodating hole, a spring is in the urginghole, an urging ball being on a top of the spring, wherein theaccommodating hole has an axial direction perpendicular to and connectedwith the acting through hole, the accommodating hole has a narrow shapein a plane parallel to a plane of the wrench handle, and a length of thenarrow shape extending in the axial direction of the wrench handle islarger than a length of the narrow shape extending in a vertical axialdirection of the wrench handle; an urging device, having an urging rod,wherein a diameter of the urging rod is less than a diameter of theacting through hole and a front end of the urging rod is an urging headthat has a rotating slot configured to engagingly receive a flatheadscrewdriver; and an operation device, having a pushing member that hasan inserting rod, the inserting rod having a positioning through holethat is perpendicular to an axial direction of the inserting rod,wherein the diameter of the inserting rod is less than the length of theaccommodating hole and the positioning through hole corresponds to theacting through hole, wherein the positioning through hole is a threadedhole, wherein the pushing member is disposed in the acting slot, theinserting rod is inserted into the accommodating hole, and the urgingrod is through the acting through hole, continuously a threaded sectionof the urging rod is fixed in the positioning through hole for tightconnection of the urging rod and the positioning through hole, and theurging rod is against to one of the urging grooves; when the pushingmember is located ahead, the inserting rod is against to theaccommodating hole, therefore the urging head of the urging rodprotrudes out of the acting through hole in order to urge the urginggrooves, so that the wrench head is positioned so as to proceed rotationoperations by means of fitting pieces of the operation portion; when thewrench head is going to lift and bend, the pushing member is movedbackward so as to move the inserting rod and the urging rod, hence, theurging head of the urging rod takes off from one of the urging grooves,so that the angle of lifting and bending the wrench head is controlled,on the contrary, the pushing member is pushed forwardly to let theurging head of the urging rod be against to one of the urging grooves.2. The braking structure of the ratchet wrench according to claim 1,wherein a front end of the pushing member has a first urging slot and asecond urging slot after the first urging slot.
 3. The braking structureof the ratchet wrench according to claim 1, wherein a rear end of theurging rod is an urging ladder, the positioning through hole beingblocked by the urging ladder.
 4. The braking structure of the ratchetwrench according to claim 1, wherein a top cover is on a top end of thepushing member, and the length of the top cover is longer than thelength of the pushing member.
 5. The braking structure of the ratchetwrench according to claim 1, wherein the positioning device has a springslot at a rear end of the accommodating hole, the spring slot beinglocated in the accommodating hole and corresponding to the positioningthrough hole, a flexible member being disposed in the spring slot andurging to a rear end of the urging rod.